TRADE SHOW FOLLOW UP PROCESS OUT PERFORMS BENCHMARKS

THE CLIENT CHALLENGE

Our client participated in multiple large (and expensive) trade shows and seminars, where they utilized surveys to gather contact information and potential leads. Lack of resources and bandwidth made it difficult to follow up on leads in a timely manner, thus turning qualified leads into missed sales opportunities.

THE GOALS

Develop a communication program for follow-ups with opted-in contacts

Ensure timeliness of follow-up

Create a cost-effective solution

Maintain ongoing interaction with each event database

PAIN POINTS

Lack of resources— Staff limitations prevented new potential leads from being expedited to sales

Databases losing value—The longer the data sat, the colder the leads went

No consistency of contact—Opted in prospects became lost in the shuffle

THE RESPONSEPOINT SOLUTION

On-Track Tools—A schedule was created to maintain stringent deadlines for inputting any survey data and contact information into the database within a week of the event. Follow-up emails were included, to be sent within two weeks of the event.

Data-based Measurement—Analytics tools were implemented to generate detailed data reports each quarter in order to assess the effectiveness of the campaign and tweak where necessary.

Delegation of Duties—ResponsePoint compiled the results of each survey and created lists of opt-in prospects after every trade show, managing the distribution process to keep everything on time and accurate.

THE RESULTS

New email content merged form and function to create lasting client relationships. Content included the offer of additional product information, registration for events or training programs, and ability to purchase the product of interest.

Open rate was 49.7% (21.7% above the industry average)Click-through rate was 7.05%Successful cost-effective measures with a cost of $22.15 per prospectSuccessful follow-up process and invaluable databasehas been fully adopted by client, ensuring that their goals are more than met for future trade show

BIGGEST TAKEAWAY

If your company is spending big bucks on trade shows and other events, it’s important to have a strategic communications program in place. Having a successful program isn’t limited by a smaller staff or bandwidth issues; delegating the initial processes to an external resource is a smart way to put better practices into place (and see a bigger ROI).